Meaning & Origins

Short form of Stephen and Steven, also used as an independent given name. It is associated with the American film stars Steve McQueen (1930–80), noted for his ‘tough guy’ roles, and Steve Martin (b. 1945).

English: nickname from Middle English sterre, starre ‘star’. The word was also used in a transferred sense of a patch of white hair on the forehead of a horse, and so perhaps the name denoted someone with a streak of white hair. It is possibly also a habitational name, for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a star.